The second or third day in Vienna I woke up feeling sick. However, there was no way I could stay in; I had to strengthen my body so I could do my work with refugees thus I resorted to "drastic" measures: breath of fire.
After drinking a glass of tea (room temperature), I dragged myself onto the yoga mat, did just a minute or two of warming up the body (probably cat/cow or swinging the body) followed by 4-5 sets of 108 breaths of fire.
When I was done, all symptoms (sore throat, head ache, and feeling weak) had disappeared. I felt very empowered and upbeat, I was ready to go and teach at a refugee-related facility. Life was good.
Guided by the experience I made the decision to include sets into my morning constitutional throughout my stay in Vienna. It was a wise decision. I am convinced the breath of fire helped to fortify me and keep me strong. It seems like it smothered an oncoming cold.
In average yoga classes, this type of pranayama (breath work) may be done for a few minutes if at all. If you are interested in learning it, please, consult your yoga teacher.
In addition I was also wearing some ear seeds (including shen men); Wendy Henry had used me as model during the first workshop with "refugees for refugees" (see previous post).
If you have ever been on this blog before, you may know how much I like "breathing." So should you.
Check this pdf for details about breath of fire, including the benefits, there are many!
And here is a video with instructions on how to do it.
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